Falling Leaves
by Irie Yurika
Summary: A very different Vegeta/Bulma get-together fic. All three chapters up. Not family-friendly like most of my 'fics. CONSTRUCTIVE flames welcome.
1. Bulma

Falling Leaves  
  
Author's Note:   
Remember the 'other' V/B get-together 'fic I promised? Well, here it is. It's not funny. It's serious and...well, read on.   
The first chapter (this) is really mild. It'll get....well, it'll get more...serious and graphic by the third and final chapter. But let's see how you guys like (or hate) this one. But don't hate it too much, because we all KNOW Bulma/Vegeta get together fics have happy endings.  
  
CONSTRUCTIVE flames welcome.   
  
  
  
In a darkened room, where the curtains were drawn over the windows, all the lights turned out, the door closed, a woman sat in a chair, crying silently.  
Hands folded over her bulging stomach, her dress blotchy with fresh tears, she sat, clutching a small baby suit she had just made.   
Unfolding the tiny blue suit, she smoothed out the wrinkles and placed it on her knees. She brushed away her tears with a pale hand.   
'No use crying over it,' she thought to herself. She stood up and placed the little suit in a cozy crib, covered in a soft blanket. She picked up a little baby rattle and shook it. The sounds made by it pleased her. She placed the rattle next to the suit.  
Silently, the woman walked over to the window and parted the curtains. In the moonlight, she could see the leaves shaking lightly from the breeze. She shivered. For some reason, the leaves reminded her of herself.  
The room suddenly became a little brighter. The woman whirled around, desperate hope in her eyes.  
"Bulma?"  
It was just her mother. She turned back to the window and stared.  
"Bulma," her mother said. "It's not healthy for you or the baby to mope around like this." Mrs. Brief's put her arms around her daughter's thin shoulders.   
In the light, Bulma wasn't a pretty sight. Compared to her round stomach, she was frightfully thin. People who saw her thought she was trying to kill herself or the baby...or both.   
"You have to eat something," Mrs. Briefs whispered. "Come on, I've fixed your favorite--meatloaf and mashed potatoes." She paused, then smiled weakly. "Remember, Bulma? When you were five? You refused to eat anything but meatloaf and mashed potatoes...and one day, I told you that there was no meatloaf, and we'd be having poached salmon. You actually ran down to the deli and bought yourself a whole meatloaf and brought it home!"   
Bulma gave a small laugh. She had been a silly little girl, wanting things that she couldn't or shouldn't have. Then she stopped smiling. She was still a silly little girl, still wanting things that she couldn't or shouldn't have.  
Tears started to fall down her cheeks. She wanted only one thing in the world. And that was for her baby to have a father.  
  
When Bulma told Vegeta that she was pregnant with his child, he had walked out of Capsule Corp. without saying a word. A month passed, then two, and finally he came back.  
"What are you going to do with the child?" he had asked.  
"What do you mean?" she answered, shocked.   
"You don't meant to say you're actually thinking of having that kid?" he snapped.   
"What are you saying? That I should get an abortion?" she cried.   
"That's a possibility. You're rich. You can afford it."   
Bulma couldn't believe it. She had thought he was at least somewhat caring, but he had just suggested she should erase the child. Anger surged through her like lava.  
"Get out of my house!" she screamed. She threw a lamp at him. "Get out you asshole! You bastard! Get the hell out of my house!"  
"Fine!" he snarled back, blasting the lamp into pieces. "Why the hell would I want to stay in this hellhole anyway? Have the stupid kid if you want; it's not my problem!" Then he stormed out, leaving Bulma sobbing madly in the corner of her bedroom.   
She thought he would come back. They had had plenty of altercations...but then a month passed, then two, then three...then four. He hadn't come back. No letters, no phone calls...nothing.   
  
  
Bulma thought she was strong enough to carry the child, with her parents and friends to help. But it hadn't helped. Chi-chi had stopped coming over with Goku and Gohan, for she saw that Bulma was watching Goku and Gohan with pain imbedded in her blue eyes. But Chi-chi had come over, loaded with food for Bulma, as often as she could.  
"Chi-chi," said Bulma one day, picking at her dinner. She was seven months into her pregnancy and was feeling more depressed than ever.  
"Yes, Bulma?" She piling more food onto Bulma's already over-filled plate.  
"I'm thinking..." she said, staring down into her plate. "I'm thinking..." Why was it so hard to get this out of her chest?  
"Yes, Bulma, I'm listening."  
"I'm thinking...of putting the baby up for adoption."   
Chi-chi dropped the serving spoon with a clatter.   
"WHAT?"she yelped. "But Bulma--why?"  
"Oh Chi-chi," Bulma sobbed, burying her face in her hands. "It's so hard. I thought I could do it on my own, I really did. But I'm so scared, Chi-chi...I'm so scared!"  
Chi-chi ran over to Bulma and put her arms around her. "What are you scared of?"  
"I'm scared that my baby will come to resent me. What if he asks about his father? What am I supposed to say? 'Your father is a heartless bastard that never wanted you or me?'"  
"Forget about him," Chi-chi said stoutly. "Even if he was here, he wouldn't be much help raising a child."  
"But he'd BE HERE, Chi-chi! He'd be here for my child to look up to, to talk to!"  
Chi-chi sighed. "Bulma, what makes you think he'll do that for your baby? Wouldn't it be worse for your child to be ignored by his own father?"  
Bulma swallowed her sobs and shuddered a sigh. "Y-you're right, Chi-chi. I don't need him. Forget about what I said...it was just a thought and nothing more."  
"Good," Chi-chi replied. "I don't want to hear you talking like that again. We'll all be here for you...your parents and my family. Gohan will treat him like his own brother, don't you worry. Now eat. You look like you're in labor already."  
Bulma smiled slightly. But on the inside, she was still sobbing.   
  
  
Mrs. Briefs had finally managed to persuade her daughter to eat a small serving of meatloaf and mashed potatoes, but afterwards, Bulma went to her room, claiming she wanted to be alone.  
Turning on the light, Bulma checked the calendar on her desk. 'Three more weeks...' she thought. 'Surely he'd turn up by then?' Then she shook her head. She refused to think of him! To her, he never existed. But her thoughts kept wandering to that night...  
He had been so tender, so loving. How could he betray her like this? Was she really just some kind of prostitute?   
Pushing away the calender with her arm, Bulma broke out in fierce sobs. Five minutes later, she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. Then another...then another. She cried in pain, and fell off the chair, clutching her stomach. Her face became white and torrents of sweat was forming on her forehead. She cried out again.  
"Bulma! Bulma!" her mother and father cried, rushing into the room. Quickly, they called for an ambulance and rushed her to the hospital.  
  
"Dr. and Mrs. Briefs?" a nurse called. Bulma's parents rushed over to the counter.   
"How's my daughter? Is she ok? Is the baby ok?" they cried out.  
"Your daughter is in the ward, you may go see her now."  
The two rushed in, and saw their daughter lying on a bed, with a mess of tubes and machines surrounding her.  
"Your daughter," the doctor who was standing by the bed said. "Is in very critical condition. She is malnutritioned and over-stressed...if she doesn't take of herself, she may lose the child and her own during delivery." He consulted the chart. "She will have to stay in the hospital until she gives birth. If one of you will follow me, I will show you the insurance forms you must fill out..." Dr. Briefs followed the doctor, while Mrs. Briefs' stayed by her daughter's side.   
"Oh Bulma."   
  
Dr. Briefs had arranged for his daughter to stay in one of the best private rooms in the hospital. Barely two days later, the room was filled with flowers and get-well wishes, fruit baskets and gifts. But Bulma didn't see them. All she did was stare at the ceiling, without saying a word.  
"Bulma!" Chi-chi cried, rushing into the room. "What's happened to you?" She had been away, taking care of a sick relative in China. "I came as soon as one of the servants at your house told me you were in the hospital!"   
Bulma said nothing. Tears kept falling from her eyes and soaking the pillow. Chi-chi wiped Bulma's and her own eyes with a handkerchief.  
"I told you not to worry," she whispered, holding Bulma's pale hand. "I told you we're here to take care of you."  
Bulma still said nothing. She closed her eyes. Chi-chi thought she was tired and wanted to sleep. Carefully wiping Bulma's face once more, she stepped outside to talk to Mrs. Briefs' and a doctor about her friend's condition.   
Not even ten minutes had passed by, when they heard a shatter and a scream coming from the room.  
Bulma was pulling out the IV needles from her wrist and had just upset a pitcher of water on the table. She was screaming incoherently and blood was pouring from her left wrist...where she had just cut herself with a piece of broken glass.   
"OH MY GOD BULMA! BULMA!"   
The doctors rushed in.  
"Give her a sedative!" one of them yelled. Four doctors struggled to keep Bulma down to give her a shot of a strong sedative. Finally, they suceeded and rushed her from the room. Mrs. Briefs' collapsed into sobs and Chi-chi knelt down, trying to comfort her admist her own tears.  
  
Five hours later, Bulma was brought back to her room. It was arranged that she should be guarded at all times, so she wouldn't try to take her own life again.  
It was night. Bulma lay awake, tears still streaming down her cheeks. A guard-bot was standing next to her, recording her every move. But Bulma wasn't stupid. She wouldn't try that again. But she had felt such despair...she had felt no escape...and thought death was the only way out...  
'No! I won't give him the pleasure of dying! I'll live! I'll live and make him see that I don't need him! That I can survive with my child, and my parents, and my good friends. That I can make it.' Enraged thoughts coursed through her brain. And with determination, she fell into a deep, untroubled sleep.  
  
"I can't believe it!" Dr. Briefs yelled, throwing a tabloid newspaper onto the ground. Apparently, someone from the hospital had ratted to the Enquirist, the most prominent tabloid paper, about Bulma's attempted suicide. A large photograph of Bulma covered in blood sported the cover. The caption was, "Heir to Largest Corporation in the World Too Ashamed of Her Growing Problem: Attempts Suicide and Fails!" Then in smaller letters underneath that read: "Source says the father of the child is the President of Sonie Electronics, a married man with a wife and four mistresses! Cat fight insues!"   
Dr. Briefs was so angry, he called the Enquirist and threatened them with no less than three thousand lawsuits if they did not withdraw the story. But the damage had been done. The picture of Bulma had spread like wildfire--it was even on the international news.  
The Briefs family and Chi-chi made sure that none of this was seen or heard by Bulma, who would have been most upset had she found out. She was kept in high spirits by her family and friends, which helped her out considerably.   
Two weeks later, Bulma went into labor. She gave birth to a beautiful little boy with pale, lavendar hair and light blue eyes. What surprised her the most was his face and not his tail...for his facial features resembled Vegeta.  
"What a handsome, strong boy he is," cooed Mrs. Briefs.   
"He's so adorable!" cried Chi-chi. Gohan, who had followed Chi-chi to see the baby, smiled and shyly asked if he could hold him.  
"Sure Gohan," smiled Bulma. Gohan carefully held the baby and rocked him back and forth. He sighed contentedly. "He looks so much like Ve-" Then he stopped. He looked up at Bulma, who had noticed what he was going to say. She smiled again.   
"You can say it Gohan," she said. "He looks a lot like Vegeta, there's no denying that."   
Then Gohan smiled again. "I wish I had a little brother."   
This time it was Chi-chi that smiled. "Well, until then, treat Trunks like a little brother, ok?"  
"Of course, Ma!" replied Gohan. "I'll always treat Trunks like a little brother!"   
"Wait a minute," Bulma interrupted. "Chi-chi, you don't mean to say--"  
Chi-chi just smiled and took Trunks from Gohan.  
  
If only happiness could last. Trunks was taken home to Capsule Corp., where he spent his first three weeks at his new home bawling his lungs out.   
"Colic," Dr. Depato pronounced.   
Poor Bulma was at the end of her wits. She just didn't know what to do anymore.  
"Oh Trunks," she sobbed one night. "Please stop crying. Mama's here...stop crying, please stop!" But Trunks didn't stop.   
At last, at around one in the morning, Trunks fell asleep, his cheeks blotchy and streaked with tears. Bulma carefully wiped his face with a soft wet cloth, then dried it with her silk handkerchief. She kissed his soft head and went to her desk.   
From a secret drawer, she pulled out a file folder, opened it, and took out one of the forms. Adoption papers. She was going to do it. She was going to put Trunks up for adoption.  
She couldn't do it. She had tried, tried, and tried but couldn't do it. Yes, she could raise the child...she had the money, the time. But she just couldn't. Seeing his face everyday frightened her. His face was so much like his father's. The way he gripped her fingers...strong like his father. Trunks was a constant reminder of something she couldn't have...and because of this, she felt she couldn't have Trunks either. She wasn't ready for motherhood. Not without someone, someone besides her parents and friends, to help her.   
Bulma's hand shook while she filled out the forms. Tears blurred her eyes. But she got through it. Just one more form to sign...  
She had done it. She had signed the last form. The hardest part was yet to come. She had to take the forms...and Trunks, to the adoption agency. She steeled herself. She would not cry when she said goodbye. She refused. Getting to her feet, Bulma quietly walked to Trunks' crib.   
"You will have another Mama and Papa soon, Trunks," she whispered, stroking his cheek. "A Mama and Papa who will care for you, play with you, sing to you...chase the monsters away..." A tear fell on his soft cheek. "But I will always love you, sweetie...Mama will always love you. You will always be my special little boy...wherever you are..." Tear after tear fell. Quickly, she brushed them away. She was tired and she had to rest...she had a long, long day ahead of her.   
  
Sometime during the night, a window slid open, and a figure jumped silently into the room. The figure walked over to the crib and looked in. Trunks slept on, not noticing the shadow that had just cast over him. Then the figure looked over to the desk, where a considerable amount of paper work was spread.  
He went to the desk and picked up one of the forms. Adoption papers? He thought. He scanned the other papers and saw names...or more accurately, a name. Mother...Bulma Briefs. Father...N/A. Form after form, he looked, and under each section labeled "Father," she had written N/A. Age, blood type, genetic diseases, country/planet of origin...all N/A. He gathered up the papers and walked over to the bed.   
"Wake up."  
Bulma stirred in her sleep, but didn't wake up. The man gently shook her.  
"Wake up."  
Slowly, sleepily, Bulma opened her eyes. She then gasped and sat up quickly.  
"Wh-wh-" she stuttered. "Wh-what are you doing here?" she managed to choke out.  
He held up the papers. "What is this?"  
She gasped again. Then she tried to snatch them away, but he held them out of her reach.   
"What is this?" he asked again.  
"It's--it's none of your business!" she yelled. She stood up and tried to get the forms again. He pushed her back down.  
"Like hell it's not my business!" he yelled back to her. "He's MY son--"  
Bulma was outraged. "Your son?" she said in a deadly whisper. "I'm sorry, but MY son does not have a father."  
"You're not making any sense! How can he not be my son?"  
"He does not have a father," she repeated. "You saw the papers. As far as I'm concerned, you don't exist."  
He stared at her, then shredded the papers with his hands.   
"What do you think you're doing!?" she yelled.   
"You're not giving Trunks up for adoption."  
"Who are you to tell me what to do?" she sobbed, collapsing onto the floor, clutching at the pieces. "You left me! You left US! Left when we were most vulnerable! Left when we needed you the most...when I needed you the most! You never wanted Trunks...you wanted me to get an abortion! Now you waltz in here like you own the place, trying to tell me what to do?"  
He just looked at her.  
  
To be continued...........................  
  
  



	2. Vegeta

Falling Leaves  
  
  
Author's Note:  
Hello again. Chapter 2 to the serious (uncharacteristic of me...sigh) B/V get together 'fic.   
This chapter will be a more...you know...lemony than the first one. (Considerably more, since the first didn't have lemon. o.0!! You know, this is a lot popular than I thought it would be. Eight wonderful reviews already! I thought my email box would be smoldering by now.)  
  
First Chapter: Brown  
Second: Light Yellow and Cafe Latte.   
Third: Yellow and Black.  
  
The first was semi-dark, since Bulma tried to commit suicide. This one is lemony fresh and just a teeny, tiny dark. (It's even a bit lighthearted in some parts! I'm so proud!) The third...I'll apologize now! I'M SORRY I'M SORRY DON'T KILL ME!!!   
  
To the TWO people who's added me to Author Alert, I've got three words for you.  
I LOVE YOU!!  
Let me know who you are, ok? I'll write a special thank you fanfic just for you!  
  
To the SEVEN people who have this fanfic on their favorites, I've got five words for you!  
I LOVE YOU GUYS TOO!!  
And that's why this chapter's up so quick! ^_^  
  
Anyway, the first chapter was centered around mostly Bulma...this will center around mostly Vegeta.   
  
Nani yo kore? Kono bakana hanashi.   
  
  
Chapter 2  
  
  
Vegeta stared at Bulma, who was sobbing uncontrollably on the floor. He said nothing...did nothing to comfort her.   
"Get out of here," Bulma said. "Don't come here again." She stood up and took a deep breath. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and walked past him to Trunks' crib...where Trunks had been crying.  
"There now," she whispered. "Mama's here..." She picked him up, laid him on the changing table, and began to change his diaper.  
"You're not giving Trunks up for adoption." he repeated, standing behind her.  
She ignored him and continued to attend to Trunks. She picked him up, then going to the little kitchenette, she prepared a bottle for him.   
Vegeta was watching her. "You don't breast feed him?"  
Bulma said nothing.  
"I asked you a question."  
"What is your sudden interest in Trunks?" Bulma asked. Going to the cherry wood rocking chair, she sat down with Trunks' in her arms and fed him his milk.  
He didn't reply to that question. "I see you've gotten his tail removed," he commented.   
"Yes."  
Neither said anything after that. Vegeta headed towards the window. "Don't put Trunks up for adoption," he said again. Then he flew out.  
He kept on flying, faster and faster, the wind burning against his skin. He didn't stop until he reached a remote island, where had been staying since he left Capsule Corp. As he sat on the shore and watched the waves roll onto the sand, his mind wandered to the day he found out about Bulma's hospitalization.  
  
Vegeta was walking around in the city, when he found a large group of people whispering. When he walked past them, his ears caught familiar words; "Capsule Corp.," "Bulma Briefs..." He stopped and listened intently.   
"Did you see the picture? How awful."  
"I guess this proves that money isn't everything."  
"I wonder who the father really is."  
"Do you really think it's that Sonie Electronics guy?"  
"That old coot? He must be ninety years old."  
"Yeah, besides, Capsule Corp. is about ten thousand times richer than Sonie..."  
By that time, Vegeta had left and had headed directly towards the news stand, about a block from where the whispering group stood.  
At the stand, he bought himself a copy of the Enquirist, where a large pixelated picture of Bulma was on the cover.  
It felt as if his heart had just plummeted into his stomach.  
Blood...red, dark blood covered her hospital gown and sheets. She was so thin...except for her stomach, which was bulging. She was pale. He closed his eyes and threw the paper, unread, into the garbage can.   
He flew top speed to his little island, where he paced around and around, trying to figure out just what was going on with him.  
'What was this odd feeling?' he thought. 'Why should I care whether she died or not? Hell,' he paced. 'Wouldn't it be better if she and the brat died?' But then another thought came into his head. 'But I don't want them to die.'   
Vegeta grabbed the nearest tree and snapped it in two. 'What if she tried to kill herself again?' he thought madly, snapping another tree. 'What if I never see her again? What if the last time I see her is going to be when she's in a casket?'   
He screamed and clutched his head. 'Why am I thinking like this? I'm supposed to be a killer! That's what Saiyajins do! How many people-men, women, children-have I killed in my lifetime? Why should I care for human woman and her halfling child?' He sat down on the ground with a thump. 'Because she's mine,' he supposed. 'Because the brat's mine. He's a halfling because of me.'   
Vegeta stood up and kicked aside the wood pieces. His mind's eye saw the picture of Bulma again. He winced. 'I wonder how she is now.'  
  
Although Bulma never knew, Vegeta had seen her in the hospital before she gave birth to Trunks. After a painful day of sorting out his thoughts, he had found her ki and had stood outside her room window. It was night. She was sleeping soundly, a guard-bot standing beside her.  
Vegeta quietly slid open the window and walked just as quietly to Bulma's bedside. There was a small light on in the corner, which cast strange shadows all over the room. The guard-bot had noticed Vegeta. He quickly went to it and had it deactivated. Vegeta didn't look it, nor did he show it, but he was a genius when it came to machinery.   
He went back to Bulma's side and watched her sleep for a long time. He daren't touch her, for fear of waking her. He knew if he woke her and she saw him, she'd go into shock and therefore harm herself or the child. He continued watching her until pale sunlight came into the room. He reactivated the robot, and flew out the window.  
Bulma never knew he had come.   
  
Vegeta continued watching the ocean waves lap the shore. He was afraid that Bulma would go on with giving up his son. She couldn't! He knew she was attatched to the baby that resembled him so much...but then again, perhaps that was why she was giving him up in the first place.  
All he wanted to do was go back to Capsule Corp., apologize profusely and stay with her and Trunks...as a family. But his pride...his damned pride wouldn't let him.  
'Why can't I just swallow my pride and go?' he thought. 'Isn't that what I want?' Thinking is harder than actually doing it.   
When Bulma had told him she was pregnant, the first thing he had felt was anger. Then confusion. Then more anger. He had said things he regretted. He had done the worst; he had left her when she needed him the most. When he saw her sobbing on the floor, clutching the pieces of paper, he had felt his heart had shattered.  
'What is this feeling?' he wondered. 'Love? I don't know what love is.' He knew that was true. He had never felt love before. His father...his father didn't love him. He didn't love his father. Rather, it was fear and awe. He never knew his mother, nor did he have siblings, and even if he did, he didn't know about them.  
But one human woman. One human woman had changed all that. He had felt, for once, that he was wanted, that he was accepted.  
He had ruined all of it. Slamming his fist onto the ground, his cursed his own existance. His cursed his pride, he cursed his obtuseness.   
Vegeta knew he had to swallow his pride. He had to! He must! Before it was too late. Before Bulma gives up Trunks. Before she marries someone else.  
'Marriage!' he thought suddenly. He had remembered something. One night, before he had found out Bulma was pregnant, he had over heard her and her parents arguing about marriage.  
"Bulma," Mrs. Briefs scolded. "That is the fourth marriage proposal you've turned down!"  
"But Mother," Bulma said. "I don't want to marry some idiot who wants me for my money! Let me choose my own husband, please!"  
"One more prospect," Dr. Briefs said. "The son of Nitsubishi. Takeshi Nitsubishi. He'll be back from France in about a year. If you don't have someone by then, you have to meet him. Alright?"  
Bulma had grudgingly accepted. In her stupidity (so she thought), she had believed that Vegeta would be that someone.  
That Nitsubishi guy would come in a year...  
  
"I hope you enjoyed yourself," Nitsubishi Takeshi said to Bulma pleasantly.  
It was the same night Vegeta had sat on his island, thinking about Bulma. Nitsubishi Takeshi had just returned from France and his parents had arranged for him to meet Bulma.   
"Yes," she said, sounding rather distracted.   
"So..." he said, looking at her expectantly.   
"So...?" she blinked. What was he trying to imply?  
"Aren't you going to invite me upstairs...for coffee?" he asked, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.  
"Um," she said. "Not tonight...I have to take care of my baby."  
"Ah..." he answered.  
"Yes. Well, Mr. Nitsubishi, I had a wonderful time. I'll bid you good-night." She turned around and headed for the door.  
Takeshi Nitsubishi was pissed. He had never finished a date without getting some. Who did she think she was, ignoring him? The slut! Well, he'd show her.  
Without a sound, he grabbed Bulma and pushed her toward the limo. She flailed and tried to scream, but he had clapped his hand over her mouth. She struggled with all her might, but he managed to get her into it.  
"Driver," he snarled. "Get out and wait thirty minutes."  
"Yes, sir." The driver sighed and got out of the car. Yet another victim. He lit a cigarette and started smoking.  
Takeshi removed his hand from Bulma's mouth. She started screaming for help. He grinned at her evilly.  
"No use babe," he said. "Sound proof."  
She tried to open the doors, but they were locked. She tried to move far away from him, but he kept advancing on her. Bulma slipped her hand into her coat pocket and pressed a button. Takeshi didn't notice.  
"No one ignores me and gets away with it," he said to her. "No one. I'll have you like any other whore I find on the street."  
He tried to unbutton her coat, but soon there was a loud noise outside. The limo started to shake.  
"What the--" he said, looking around. Bulma took the chance. She kicked him as hard as she could. The limo door was pried open by a robot outside.  
Bulma ran outside and into the building as quickly as she could. She leaned against the door, breathing hard. Then she heard the loud squealing of tires. They had gone.   
She wasn't the daughter of the most successful company in the world for nothing. Every jacket, coat, purse she own had a security button on it. When she was stranded, or in danger, she pressed it and a Capsule Corp. robot would come to her rescue.  
Shuddering, Bulma headed upstairs to her bedroom. She immediately went to the crib to check on Trunks. He was sleeping soundly. Seemed as if he had gotten over his colic. She smiled at her child and gently stroked his back. How she loved her baby! How could she ever think of giving him up? No. She'd never do it. She wanted her baby. She wanted him more than she wanted anything else in all the world.  
Stretching, she headed towards the bathroom and took a long, hot shower. She put on a robe and checked on Trunks again.  
Then the thought struck her.  
She had nearly been raped.  
Quickly, she looked around her. Maybe he had come back? Maybe he was in the room right now? A rustling noise startled her. Just the leaves outside. But wait--there was no wind. Squirrels. But at night?  
She grabbed a pen knife from her desk and slowly headed towards the window. She looked, but saw nothing.   
"What are you doing?" a voice said from behind.  
Bulma yelped and dropped the knife, which landed with a soft thud on the carpeted floor. Bulma turned around. Vegeta. Sitting on her bed.  
"Oh my god!" she yelled, throwing a baby rattle at him. "You scared the hell out of me!" He caught the rattle easily and tossed it onto the floor.   
"What were you doing?" he asked again.   
She ignored his question and asked him one of her own. "Why are you here? I thought I told you to get lost."  
He didn't say anything.   
She didn't say anything.  
The two stared at each other for a long, long time.  
"I..." said Bulma. She slid to the floor and started crying.  
Vegeta was alarmed. He sat beside her while she poured out everything that had happened, from meeting the Nitsubishi guy who kept staring at her legs and cleavage to the pen knife, all anger against Vegeta forgotten.   
He was angry. No, he was more than angry. He wanted to kill that Nitsubishi bastard who had dared lay a hand on Bulma. But...she needed him now. He'd deal with the molestor later.  
Carefully, so she wouldn't feel afraid, he put his arm around her shoulders. Bulma looked up in shock. 'Why is he still here?' she thought.   
The two sat there for nearly an hour, saying nothing to each other.   
Bulma couldn't take it anymore. She stood up. She untied her robe sashes and let the robe drop onto the floor.  
"I don't care if you leave me in the morning," she said to him. "As long you stay with me tonight." But she did care. She wanted so badly for him to stay. More badly than she wanted him physically.  
He still sat on the floor, looking at her. His face showed no emotion. None at all. But she didn't care. But there was no stopping her now. And Vegeta, being intelligent, didn't stop her.  
The sex was wild, uncontrolled, much like their first time.   
  
Vegeta had complained about a glitch in the gravity room system and told her to fix it immediately. Grumbling, Bulma grabbed her repair kit and followed him to the switchboard inside. She twiddled around with a few wires, and then SLAM! The door of the gravity room had closed shut. "Oh shit!" Bulma cursed. She couldn't get it to reopen.  
"I thought you knew what you were doing!" yelled Vegeta. He prepared to shoot down the door.   
"DON'T!" Bulma shrieked. "You'll ruin the circuitry! Hold on, will you?" She looked into the board. "Damn it!" she yelled, kicking the machine.   
"What now?" asked Vegeta, extremely irritated.   
"Daddy?" she said into the intercom. "Daddy, it's me, Bulma. I'm stuck in the gravity room." She waited. "Daddy?" Then she slapped her forehead.  
"I forgot! He's not going to return from a party with mother until ten tonight!"  
Vegeta yelled, "You don't mean I have to stay here with you for five hours!! Get one of the robots to open it!!"  
Bulma was just as angry and irritated as he was. "You moron!" she said. "My father programmed the computer for the gravity room so only HIM, YOU OR I could operate it! You SPECIFICALLY told us to add that option! The robots can't get near this god forsaken place!"  
"At least PRETEND to fix the damned thing, will you?" he yelled at her.  
"OH MY GOD!!! YOU ARE SO IRRITATING!!" she screamed at him.   
The two headed for opposite sides of the room. But Bulma couldn't help noticing how well his body was formed. Sure, he was a little short for her tastes, but...she swallowed. What was she thinking?  
Bulma shook her head and tweaked with the machine again. Anything to keep her mind off of him. "Ow!" she said, dropping a knife. She had cut herself on the sharp edge. Vegeta snorted and came over.   
"You're a lot clumsier than you look," he said.  
"Look," she answered. "If you can't help me, shut up."  
"Give me that," he said. Vegeta took her hand and wrapped it expertly with a scrap of cloth he had torn from her shirt.  
"Hey!" she said, protesting. "Why my shirt?"  
"Your cut, your shirt."   
"You didn't have to tear a piece so large, you know!" Her breasts were nearly showing. She tried to pull the shirt down, but that didn't help, because then her cleavage showed more. She crossed her arms instead.  
"You're modest? Since when?" he said.   
"You should talk!" she retorted. "Walking around here shirtless! Who are you trying to impress, my mother?"  
He actually smiled inspite of himself. She caught him.  
"Oh!" she laughed. "So the tough guy has a sense of humor!"   
He stopped smiling and scowled.  
"I know something that can keep you smiling," she said slyly. Without thinking, she took off her torn shirt. Then her bra.  
The two didn't even think of consequences. They literally tore any remaining clothing off each other and started kissing.  
Vegeta pinned Bulma to the floor and thrust as hard as he could into her. She screamed with half pain, half mad joy. They came almost immediately. Again, and again, he thrust and she arched her back to meet him. The air was filled with loud moaning and screaming, mostly on Bulma's part.   
For the first hour, the two did nothing but that. Just plain, (but wild) sex.  
But when the second hour came...they started experimenting.  
For five full hours, Vegeta and Bulma made love. They had come so many times that they had lost count.   
For nearly every day after that, the two searched for each other. In the shower, in the workshop, in her bedroom, in his bedroom, the gravity room again, the kitchen, outside...anywhere they could be alone. And Capsule Corp. is huge.   
It was during one of these times that Bulma had gotten pregnant. But they had had sex (his terms) made love (her terms) so many times, it was hard to pinpoint the exact date.  
  
Vegeta and Bulma had somehow ended up on her bed. They were both breathing hard, hot and sweaty...and completely satisfied. Without realising it, they fell asleep in each others arms.  
  
The next morning, Bulma woke to the sound of Trunks' cries and a splitting headache. She sat up, rubbing her head, trying to remember what had happened the night before.  
She looked next to her. Vegeta wasn't there. She sighed. 'Of course,' she thought. Stretching her sore body, she stood up to attend Trunks. She drew on her robe, which for some odd reason, was on the bed and not on the floor in a heap. Then she realized she was wearing a nightgown. Someone had dressed her. Her robe brushed by the night table and knocked over something that fell with a small thud.  
She leaned over and picked it up. It was an aspirin bottle. She looked at the table again, and saw a piece of paper.  
"Stay home. Don't go out of doors."  
It was signed, Vegeta.  
  
To be continued.........(whew)  
  
  



	3. Falling Leaves

Falling Leaves  
  
Final Chapter  
  
"Stay home. Don't go out of doors."  
  
Bulma read and re-read the note. She couldn't understand...why did Vegeta want her to stay home? Was it because he thought Takeshi Nitsubishi would be out to get her, and that if she ventured out, she'd be vulnerable? Or was it because he didn't want to come home to an empty house...an empty bed?   
She placed the note in a drawer and opened the aspirin bottle. She took two aspirin pills, dry. Trunks started crying; most likely a wet diaper. She walked over to Trunks' crib and sure enough, a soiled diaper and a not-so-cheery baby greeted her.  
"Good morning, little one," Bulma cooed, lifting out Trunks and placing him on the changing table. "Yuck," she said, making a face. She changed Trunks' diaper quickly, then began preparing a bottle of milk for him.  
Someone was knocking on the door. Bulma, holding Trunks, went over to open it. Her mother, smiling, was at the door, a small package in her hands.  
"Good morning, sweetie," Mrs. Briefs said, giving Trunks a kiss on his forehead. "Bulma, this came for you early this morning." She set the box on the floor, and took Trunks from her daughter. "You go on and open it," she said. "I'll feed Trunks his breakfast."  
The box wasn't heavy. But Bulma was suspicious...could it be from Nitsubishi?   
"Mother," she called. "I'm going to take this down to the lab...it might be something not so pleasant."   
"You do that, dear," replied Mrs. Briefs. She sat down on the rocking chair, preparing to feed Trunks his bottle.  
"You behave now," said Bulma to Trunks.   
Trunks blew her a very wet raspberry.  
  
  
Closing and locking the door securely behind her, Bulma took the box to the scanner on the North side of the lab.   
She placed it on the belt and let it pass through the scanner. She looked at the monitor, where it would soon list the contents of the box.  
"Listing Contents. Newspaper clippings. One sheet w/n sealed envelope. End of Contents."  
'Newspaper clippings? A letter?' Bulma thought. "Computer," she said out loud. "Re-check to make sure there are no hazmats or explosives."  
"None detected."  
Bulma was intrigued. There was nothing this box that would hurt her. She took the box over to the cluttered desk and undid the brown paper wrapping. She checked the covering for any kind of writing. There was none; only her name and Capsule Corp. written on the front. Putting the wrapping aside, Bulma lifted the top portion of the box.  
As the computer stated, a pile of newspaper clippings and an envelope were within the box. Bulma lifted the newspaper clippings...then dropped them in surprise.  
It was her. Blurry, pixelated pictures of herself, covered in blood, her stomach round and sticking out sharply from her thin body sported the sixteen clippings. Shaking, Bulma opened the sealed envelope.  
  
"Ms. Briefs--  
  
You'll live to regret your mistake. Think these clippings are bad? If you don't want to go through another scandal, contact me.   
  
--Your Friend"  
  
Still shaking madly, Bulma looked at the clippings in shock and horror. Why hadn't her family told her about this? The headlines...the rumors...the lies...that didn't bother her. She knew, her family knew, her friends knew that it was all false. But the picture...Vegeta...  
Vegeta.  
He must've seen this picture. Sixteen clippings all from different newspapers and magazines. 'He must've seen this picture,' she thought. 'Is that why he came? Because he felt sorry me? Did he see my trying to take my life as a kind of desperate call? He came because I needed him...and not because he loves me?' Bulma was very, very confused. She didn't want Vegeta to feel sorry for her. She didn't want him to think she just needed him. Yes, she needed him...but she also needed his love. Sympathy was something she couldn't stand. Sympathy...  
'Was that all it was? Was last night just...sympathy sex.....?'  
Bulma stood up, crumpled up the clippings and the note and threw it into the trash. No! She was not going to accept charity sex from Vegeta. She didn't need him. She didn't! 'Stay home, huh? Don't go out of doors? Stay home so he can have me whenever he feels like it? Like hell!' she thought madly. 'I won't wait until Nitsubishi finds me. I'll find him! I'll sleep with Nitsubishi...it'll show Vegeta that I can get sex and don't need his charity. I'll make sure he disappears from my life!!' And with determination, Bulma marched upstairs.  
  
"Another date?" Mrs. Briefs commented. "You're getting along well with young Mr. Nitsubishi then?"   
Bulma wanted to do everything that Vegeta would hate. She would ignore his note and go out with Nitsubishi again. But she worried. What if he tried to get his hands on her again? She shook her head. 'No,' she thought, pulling on her spike heels. 'I'll get my hands on him first.'  
"Bulma, are you alright?" Mrs. Briefs asked, concerned. Her daughter's face was full of some kind of odd determination she just couldn't comprehend.   
"Mother," Bulma said, grabbing her purse. "Take care of Trunks for me. I might be late coming home." She gave her mother and Trunks light kisses.   
  
A limo was waiting outside for her. She gritted her teeth and waited for the chaffeur to open the door. Takeshi Nitsubishi was inside, grinning.   
After a rather stiff and polite dinner, the two headed back to the limo, approximately four hours later.  
"You got my gift, then?" Nitsubishi asked. 'Gift?' she thought. But Bulma nodded.  
"Good...I suppose you don't want another huge scandal like that...do you?" he went on.  
Bulma blinked slowly. She really didn't care, but decided to play along with him. "Of course I don't...it would ruin me...completely uproot my social status within polite society," she answered, crossing her legs.  
Nitsubishi stared and drew closer to Bulma. Bulma grimaced.   
"You know what I want...right?" he whispered in her ear. She was completely disgusted. How could she even possibly think about sleeping with someone like him?   
"Money?" she answered.  
"No..." he said. "I've got money." He slipped his hand inside Bulma's blouse. She shuddered in pure disgust. She felt nauseated. But he thought she shuddered in anticipation.  
"I see you're more cooperative tonight," he breatehd, his voice literally dripping with lust. He started to undo the buttons of her silk blouse.   
"Wait," she said hurriedly. She had to get him to her bedroom. She reasoned Vegeta would come back that night...and she wanted him to see her having sex with this nasty fool. To show him that she didn't need him.  
"What now?" he said, irritated.   
"Let's go to my room," she said softly.   
"I can fuck you fine here," he protested.   
Bulma was starting to get impatient. "If you want me, you'll take me like a gentleman," she said. "You tried to rape me last night but I forgave you. That was a really hard thing to do. Don't you think you owe me at least this much?"  
"I suppose," he grumbled. Frankly, he was very much surprised that she had come to him again, scandal or no scandal.   
Bulma did not want to sleep with this man. But it had to be him. To show Vegeta that she'd rather have sex with someone who tried to rape her than have sex with him. There was something very, very odd in Bulma's logic, but people will often do and think strange things when they feel they are betrayed by someone they truly love...  
  
Reluctantly, Bulma led Nitsubishi to her bedroom. She flicked on the lights; Trunks wasn't in his crib. She looked in and saw a note in her mother's handwriting, saying she took him in for the night. Nitsubishi came up behind her, feeling her breasts through her blouse. It took extreme will power not to throw him off of her. He forced her to turn around and started kissing her madly. All Bulma wanted to do was throw up. But she couldn't. She steeled herself and kissed him back. As much as she didn't want to, her hands started to rub the man's back.   
"I can't take it anymore," he gasped. He pushed Bulma against the wall and hiked up her skirt. Bulma stared at the windows, which happened to be straight across from where they were standing. The leaves in the trees rustled from the breeze. She closed her eyes. She didn't want to see the shuddering leaves. It reminded too much of herself. Pitiful. Weak. Useless.  
Nitsubishi was starting undo his belt and unzip his pants. She could feel his bulge. She felt even more nauseous.   
But then...she felt nothing. Nitsubishi had stopped touching her. Bulma heard a slight gurgle...she opened her eyes in surprise.  
Vegeta was holding Nitsubishi by his neck. The man was turning purple.  
"Vegeta!" Bulma cried. "What are you doing? Put--put him down!!" Vegeta threw Nitsubishi onto the floor. Nitsubishi gasped and clutched his throat.   
"So this is what you do?" Vegeta said, his voice dangerously low. "Throw yourself at any man that comes your way?"   
Bulma seethed. "What I do in my bedroom is none of your damned business," she yelled.   
"Isn't he the guy that tried to rape you?" he went on. "So you don't care who or what you sleep with?"   
"The only mistake I ever made," she screamed. "Was sleeping with you! You don't know how much I regret it!"  
He slapped her.   
Bulma clutched her cheek and looked at Vegeta through blurred eyes. "Oh, so now you're hitting me, too? Why don't you just kill me and get it over with?" she sobbed.   
  
Nitsubishi, still clutching his bruised throat, was slowly crawling towards the door.  
"Where do you think you're going?" snarled Vegeta, pulling him up by his hair.  
Screaming, Nitsubishi flailed his arms and legs. "Don't kill me!" he shrieked. Then he fainted, a dark spot forming in his pants.  
Vegeta looked in disgust. He took Nitsubishi and threw him out the window, where he landed, awoke with a start, and limped hurriedly to his limo.  
"Let's get the hell out of here," he choked. "Fucking raging lunatics! I'm never coming here again!"   
The tires squealed shrilly as the limo made a very fast get-away.  
  
"I didn't know you're attracted to cowards," Vegeta spat. He glared at Bulma, who was still sobbing in a heap on the floor.  
She looked up, her face red and streaked with tears. "The only coward I know," she said through clenched teeth. "Is you."   
Enraged, Vegeta grabbed the front of Bulma's blouse and yanked her to her feet.   
"I," he said, shoving her against the wall, "am not a coward."   
She laughed bitterly through her tears. "Not a coward?" she repeated, mockingly. "Who's the one that left me, because he was afraid of his own feelings? Who was the one that wanted me to have an abortion, because he was too scared of the outcome? Who was so afraid of falling in love that he ran away for months?"  
Anger flashed through his eyes.   
"And who's fault was it? You're the one that made me like this! How can you, one pitiful, weak human woman make me so damned confused?"  
"My fault! How can it be my fault?"  
"You're the one that came onto me that day in the gravity room!" he retorted. "Stripping off your clothes like that!"  
"You didn't have to take it!" she yelled, beating his chest as hard as she could with her fists. "You took advantage of me! You knew I was lonely!"  
Vegeta took her hands and pinned it against the wall.   
"I did not take advantage of you! You threw yourself at me. It'd make more sense to say you took advantage of me!"  
"I do not believe this!" Bulma cried. "You can't go pinning this all on me!"  
"And yet you think it's ok for you to blame it all on me?"   
"That's enough!" she screamed. "Get the hell out! Never, ever show your face here again! I don't want to see you! Ever! I'd rather have Nitsubishi screw my brains out any day! I'd rather do that than be in the same bed with you ever again! And that's where we'd be, if you hadn't interrupted!" Tears kept falling from her eyes and splashing down onto her crumpled blouse. Hot, angry tears kept falling, without any sign of stopping.  
"Is that all you can think about?" he said, keeping her pinned to the wall. "Sex? You think that's the only reason I put up with your annoying ways?" He let go of her arms. They dropped to her sides.   
"You don't care about me," she sobbed. "You never cared about me and you never will care about me. You don't want to learn to love me..."  
"You're right," he said, in a low tone. "I don't love you. I never did care much about you. Sometimes, I even wish that I had killed you when I had the chance, back on Namek."  
Bulma sobbed silently.  
"All I wanted was a warm, soft body. Yours happened to be the closest and most available, so I took it. That's all you're to me. Just a warm body for me to screw whenever I feel like it."  
Painful words. His words cut through her more painfully than when she had given birth to his son. She'd known it all along...always, the same fear...that same, gnawing fear. Going into Nitsubishi's arms...all a plot, she realized...not to show Vegeta she didn't care...but to see if she could make him jealous. To see if he'd come and see...to see if he'd show anger, to proclaim that he was the only man for her. He had shown anger, and even a sort of proclamation...but...it was different! Different from what she had hoped! It was so painful...the last, the smallest ray of hope now blacked out. Darkness. Even the light of denial...the artificial, falsely pleasant light of denial...was gone.  
Heavy silence filled the room. Bulma stared outside. Leaves, rustling in the breeze. Shuddering, like she was shuddering, shaking, like she was shaking. Pitiful. Weak. Useless.  
Tears stopped falling from her swollen eyes.   
"I give up," she murmured, as if talking to herself. "It's no use...there's no more hope left." Her blue eyes stared past Vegeta, past the rustling leaves.   
This time, it was he that felt searing pain. He looked at her eyes that didn't look back. He looked at her arms hanging lifelessly at her sides. He looked at her cheek, where an ugly, dark bruise was forming.   
How much pain had he caused her? Physical pain. Emotional pain. He looked into her eyes again. Still staring past him...not seeing him. What was she seeing? Her face...her faced showed a sort of peace...as if some heavy burden had been lifted. Was he that burden?   
Pain washed over him like waves. But for once, finally, he knew what this pain was. He knew where it came from. He was no longer confused.   
Bulma did truly feel as if she was at ease now. She no longer had to worry about whether Vegeta would ever come to love her. She knew he wouldn't. It no longer bothered her. He was something beyond her. Something she couldn't have. There was no more pain. There was no more of anything.  
Warm, rough lips touched hers. Warm, strong arms encircled her in a tight embrace. A warm, tender voice whispered,  
"Don't ever give up."   
Bulma blinked slowly, almost sleepily.   
Vegeta looked into her strangely distant eyes. Where had she gone?   
"I love you."   
Startled, Bulma turned her head and looked in his eyes.  
"What did you say?"   
He didn't answer her. Instead, he kissed her deeply, so there was no need for him to repeat it again.  
Suddenly, Bulma's world became brighter.   
  
  
Leaves rustled, gently stirred by the breeze. One, by one, leaves fell, swirling and dancing, as if the wind was playing a strange, yet enticing melody. Falling leaves flew past the window, but Bulma and Vegeta never noticed. They were lost in a world of their own.  
  
The end.  
  
  
  
  
  
Author's Notes:  
YAAAAAAAY IT'S FINISHED!!!! It wasn't very lemony at all, but there's a reason for that.   
  
I hope you guys liked it. I enjoyed writing it, although I was afraid that I'd get very negative feedback! Thanks to all you peeps who gave me excellent reviews and gave me the reason to go on with this 'fic. Thanks again, you guys! ;___; I will make a special lemon chapter, for you lemon fans. But it might take awhile. For some reason, I find it hard to write lemons, but especially lemons that are about Bulma and Vegeta! But I also wanted to keep this 'fic rated R and not NC-17...the special lemon 'fic will be NC-17.   
  
I will write a new series, a Trunks and Pan/Goten and Bra series, called "Simplicity and Sexuality, Sensibility and Sensuality," starting tomorrow. It's going to be angsty and pretty sexy...because it's not so bad writing lemons that involve them! ^_^ The whole series may be NC-17, but that depends on whether you guys want it NC-17 or not. If not, I'll keep it PG-13 or R, then write special lemon "side stories."  
  
In Chapter two, I sometimes wrote "Nitsubishi Takeshi" and then "Takeshi Nitsubishi." In Japan, family name comes first...(like Irie Yurika) but in America first name comes first and...wah! I'll fix it soon. I really enjoyed kicking Nitsubishi's ass in the story. And I enjoyed making him make an ass of himself, too!  
  
This chapter was extremely difficult to write. Did you know that this is the second chapter three I wrote? I actually put up a totally different chapter up, for maybe two minutes. Then I read it, realized it TOTALLY sucked, and took it down. That's why this chapter took so long to go up.   
  
But anyway, thank you to those peeps who enjoy my fanfics! I hope you'll continue reading! Good day and God bless.  
  
-Irie Yurika  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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